Dragon of Energy: Iron Claws
by Project Shadow 001
Summary: Waking up with no idea who or what you are can be hectically scary. But, as Shadow finds out, your past can be way worse than knowing nothing about it.
1. Shadow, the Living Dragon

Bloop... ... bloop... ... bloop...

Crack...

CRASH!

Silence followed after...

Those were the things that reached my ears before my body contacted a cold hard surface with a thud. It took a while, but I eventually forced my eyes to open, baring witness to the sights around me.

"Where... where am I?" were the first words I could get out of my mouth.

"... In S.H.I.E.L.D custody." The answer came with a man's voice.

I looked up, only for my eyes to lock with those of a dark skinned man. An eye patch was over his left eye, leaving me to guess what could have happened to it.

"Custody?" I asked uncertain, "W-why? What did I do?"

"She doesn't know?" The man asked a women standing behind him in surprise.

"No, sir," She answered with admirable respect, "It appears she has some form of amnesia."

"Hmm... probably better that way." The man said a he reached a hand down to me. I took it, although a bit uncertain, it felt like I could trust him.

"My name is Director Nick Fury. Head of the organisation, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Hill will escort you to the landing platform."

**Chapter 1: Shadow, the Living Dragon**

"So... where do I go from here?" I asked Agent Hill as we walked through the steel halls.

"You will go down to the city of New York to live the life of a normal girl." She answered a bit bluntly.

"... Do you know what my name is then?"

"Your name is Shadow. Shadow Parks."

"OK... do I have any family or friends I can go to?"

There was a short silence between us before Hill looked down at me for once, "Only one relative... but he doesn't know about you."

The cool night air ruffled my brown hair as we stepped into the outside world. It felt like I hadn't seen it for months, the last thing I remember being awoken and seeing Director Fury.

Agent Hill led me to the edge of the giant aircraft where I could look out over the twinkling lights of the city below; "OK, so... now what?"

"You jump."

"Wait, WHAT!?" I exclaimed in surprise, looking her dead in the eyes, "Are you crazy!? You want me to go Splat!?"

"You can fly, can't you?"

"Does it look like I can? I don't have wings!" I scolded crossly, with zero idea of what was going to happen next...

**Hill's Point of view**

We looked each other dead in the eyes before she suddenly froze. Then I knew my words triggered her transformation.

Long black claws tipped her fingers as silver-grey scales covered her entire body, a slender tail whipping where there never was one. Giant wings ripped through her shirt as her feet became nothing more then over sized claws.

Black horns erupted from the back of her skull as her mouth elongated into a snout filled with knife sharp teeth.

Slit, green sclera eyes snapped open as a bellowing roar ripped through the air.

I didn't respond to her sudden change but only walked back to the entrance, calling back over my shoulder, "Don't wreck anything, OK?"

**Shadow's Point of view**

My draconian gaze followed her until she was out of sight before shifting to the city below. I hesitated, at first, but eventually mustered up the courage to jump; spreading my wings out fully.

The wind against my scales was so soothing, it felt like I was swimming in nice cool water on a scorching summer day. Strangely, it felt like this wasn't the first time I changed as my wings flapped up and down to the beat of my heart.

After what felt like an hour of flying, I decided to set down at the Train station I picked up a while back.

Holding my wings still, I glided into the tunnel to find a spot to set down for the night. I finally reached the depot as the scaled soles of my feet made contact with the cold tile floor.

Lucky for me, no one was there. I closed my eyes in thought before I felt the same tingling sensation as before. My draconian appearance was gone and instead was a 16-year old teenage girl, with light green eyes and orange streaks running through her chocolate brown hair.

I looked around with curiosity before running over to the stair case that led to the streets above.

"So, this is New York..." I thought aloud when I reached the top. Tall buildings all around as cars constantly whizzed past, even at this time of night.

The pebbles on the pavement crunched softly below the soles of my Navy sneakers as I followed along the side walk, passing someone every now and then. A sudden tingling sensation suddenly ran up my spine when I passed a dark haired teen, prickling my curiosity.

"Hm...?" I accidentally breathed aloud, turning to face the teen who had his back to me. Unfortunately, it seemed that he also heard me as he turned round.

"Something wrong?" He asked calmly.

"Hm? Nope, not at all. ...Name's Shadow. Shadow Parks." I couldn't stop myself from saying, holding a hand out.

"Tony Stark. It's nice to meet you." He responded taking my hand and shaking it.

"Whelp, nice meet en you!" I said to avoid further conversation before taking off.

"Hey wait!" I suddenly stopped for some reason upon hearing Tony's voice behind me, turning round to see him run up to me.

"...You look familiar for some reason," he said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "You wouldn't be related to Arthur Parks, would you?"

Arthur Parks? ...How come that name sounds so familiar.

"He sounds familiar... but can't say I know him."

There was a short silence between us before Tony spoke up again, "So, want to come over to my place? ... Maybe tell me a bit more about yourself."

"OK." I answered before following behind him.

**Fury's Point of view**

I watched them both from the Helicarrier's monitors as they spoke, no idea about what, before Shadow followed Stark.

"Sir," one of my men asked with some uncertainty. "Should we intervene?"

Normally I'd say yes but something made me choose otherwise, "No! As long as she doesn't learn about her past, she'll be fine. ...Besides, maybe this'll be good for her."

I had no idea what possessed me to say that but for some reason I kinda sounded like a father. But, what I said was still true. If AIM gets a hold of her again, nothing will stop them from completing their plans.

**Shadow's Point of view**

"Bah, humbug," I breathed as my jaw dropped looking up at the who knows how many story building, "This is your place!?"

"Yeah, cool huh?" Tony responded, "Come on, I'll show you around."

I followed him inside as the doors closed behind us.

"So, where you from?"

"I..." I suddenly paused, coming to an abrupt halt. Tony glanced at me as I stood there in thought before finally getting an answer out of my mouth, "Actually, I don't know. ... I have some form of amnesia and I have no clue where I came from."

"Hm? ...Well maybe I can help. What are some of the things you CAN remember?"

"Only that my full name is Shadow Parks and that I have one relative in the city but he doesn't know about me."

"He?" Tony asked as he stood with his hand on his chin in thought, "Well maybe Arthur is that relative."

"Maybe..." I repeated a bit saddened. Tony noticed this as he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, "Well, maybe I can help you find him. How's that sound?"

"Great!" I answered as my face brightened up with excitement.

"OK but let's leave it for later. It'll take a while for me to find his energy signature again but I'll introduce you to some of my friends for now."

He led me to a good sized room that looked more like an office as a grey haired man sat at a desk with a wireless device in his ear.

"No Hammer, for the tenth time! I'm not selling those plans for you to make weapons..." He looked up as we entered the room.

"I'll call you back later." He said before deactivating the device and the taking it off, "Evening Tony. Who'd you bring with you?"

"Hey dad, this is my new friend Shadow. We met earlier in the city and I invited her along."

"Well it's nice to meet you Shadow," he greeted warmly, holding out his hand in greeting. "I'm Howard Stark. Tony's father and CEO of Stark international."

I shook his hand although a bit uncertain but something told me I could trust him, "Nice to meet you Mr. Stark."

"Please, call me Howard. So, what brings you to New York?"

"Um..." I said rubbing the back of my head sheepishly but I was thankful that Tony vouched for me, "She has a form of amnesia, Dad. She can't remember where she came from but she does have one relative who's been laying low for a while."

"That's unfortunate. You're more then welcome to stay here if you'd like, Shadow."

"Thank you Mr. St... I mean Howard but I'm not sure if I'm used to standing at these types of heights." I protested a bit, my light green gaze focused on the window behind him.

Holy canoli we were high up!

"That's all right. I'm sure Roberta wouldn't mind if you stayed with her and her son until we can find a better home for you."

"Well, I ought a get going. You'll be OK here, right?" Tony suddenly asked me.

"Um, yeah... but where're you going?"

"Just to stretch my legs." He responded before he was back out the door.

I didn't mind much, walking over to the window to survey the city below. The place was huge. Way bigger then any place I've ever seen. But hey; that's why they call it a city, right?

A red and yellow streak suddenly whizzed past the window; making me jump and yelp in surprise, backing up and almost falling over the desk.

**Howard's Point of view**

"O, yes. I'll have to explain that." I said upon realizing what happened but it didn't seam like Shadow was listening. In fact, it was like her thoughts were a mile away.

She was shaking like a leaf and her eyes were wide. I figured it was just from shock.

"Are you alright Shadow?" I asked concerned touching her arm. It was ice cold. I looked down, only to realise how strong her grip on the wooden surface of the desk had become but I was not prepared for what happened next.

Sharp claws suddenly erupted from the tips of her fingers, almost digging through the wood as scales covered her body.

A bellowing roar ripped through the air as the transformation completed and instead of a young girl, stood a 7 ft. Humanoid dragon with silver-grey scales and claws that would make even the bravest flinch on sight.

It's light green eyes looked down at me as a snort escaped it's nostrils. I only sat there, looking wide-eyed at the giant beast before it bolted; crashing through the window and taking off into the city.

"Shadow!?" I yelled after it, running to the shattered window but it was already out of sight.

**Shadow's Point of view**

"Whoa!" I gasped under my breath, only to realise that I was in dragon form.

"Hm... guess I go dragon when my emotions run wild. Could be useful in controlling it though." I said to myself.

"Maybe... Come on Shadow! You gotta go after that... thing."

The beating of my wings quickened it's pace as I picked up speed. A red and yellow figure finally came into view after a while, it's scent very similar to Tony's.

"Tony?" I asked in disbelief upon catching up to it.

"...Whoa!" It yelped in surprise, flinching back a bit. "Um, You have me confused with someone else."

"Come on Tony. I can smell it's you from a mile off."

"It's me, Shadow." I continued after noticing that he was still confused.

"Wait, Shadow!? ...What happened to you?"

"It's kinda hard to explain."

This was pretty much true. I don't even have a clue how I transform, I just go with the flow.

"OK, well since your here I guess you can help. See that van down there?"

I looked down to where he was pointing, noticing a black van driving through the street like it was lit on fire.

"Yeah?"

"They're part of the Maggia and stole a bunch of weapons technology. Think you can slow em down?"

A subtle smirk crossed my snout, "Leave it to me!"

I swooped down like an eagle ready to catch it's prey till I was next to the van, giving a mock wave to the surprised driver before digging my claws deep into the front tire. The van skid as I pulled back; hovering a few feet above the ground before the vehicle came to an abrupt halt and landing on it's side. Four men, each wearing a business suit and white mask, scrambled out before aiming their hand guns at me.

I had to continuously dodge left and right to avoid the rain of bullets in my direction before one was able to embed itself into my arm, making me roar as the pain seared the skin underneath my scales.

A beam of energy suddenly made them scatter as Tony flew overhead, landing a few feat in front of me.

"You OK?" He asked in concern.

"Yeah... just a scratch." I replied as crimson blood seeped through my clawed fingers from the wound. This didn't stop me though as my eyes narrowed into an angered glare at the masked men. A tingling sensation ran up my spine as I snarled before suddenly dissolving into pure energy, ramming into one of the men. I ricocheted off him into the other two before returning to solid dragon form and slamming my scaled fist into the side of the last one's face, sending him flying.

"Whoa!" I heard Tony gasp under his breath but the last three were already heading in my direction, prompting me to slam my foot into the first one's chin before letting my tail swing round to take out the second one. Tony also joined in, punching the last one and letting him hit the floor; unconscious.

"Well, that was easy." I commented with a smirk.

"You kidding? It's like playing on easy in a first-person shooter." Tony replied with a chuckle, "Now let's clean up this mess and go."

A victorious smirk crossed my snout a few hours later as the police picked up the four "morons" where we left them tied up next to their decommissioned van.

"...When did you learn you could transform?" Iron Man, Tony's persona when he's "armored up", asked me from where we stood atop a nearby skyscraper.

"Tonight." I answered back, "I'll probably have to pay for the window I broke back in your dad's office."

"It's OK. The fact that you can't control these transformations makes up for it." Iron man responded.

"What I'm concerned of, is that move you used earlier."

"What move?" I asked before turning to face him.

"When you dissolved into pure energy. Arthur can do the same thing. Maybe it's proof that you two are related."

"Maybe..." I repeated, "If you don't mind, I'd like to know anything you can find out about him."

"Sure. But right now we should go back to Stark Towers. I want to run some tests to make sure."

And with that he took off into the night sky. I looked down at the wailing sirens and flashing lights of the police vehicles again before spreading my wings out and following him.

**Ghost's Point of view**

The fact that AIM has hired me AGAIN is something even I get tired of. First Stark, then Parks, and now this... Dragon Girl. Whatever they want to do with her must be pretty important if they're willing to pay double the amount I usually ask for.

I have to admit, she's pretty strong; seeing how quickly she took out those Maggia thugs. But the fact that she has the same powers as the Living Laser is a bit weird.

Whatever the case she's mine, whether Iron Man tries to stop me or not!

**Shadow's Point of view**

"Kylight? ...Hm, haven't seen this in a while." I heard Tony say from where I was laying on the metal table as a bar of light continuously scanned my body.

"What's Kylight?" I asked confused.

"It's a rare mineral found in the Arctic Circle," Howard answered from where he was standing next to Tony. "I've used it to create most of my inventions but it has very bad side-effects so I stopped using it."

"Will these side-effects effect me too?"

"Not in the state it is now. Your body has evolved in such a way that, apart from the transformation, the Kylight has no effect on you. It's astounding really."

I rolled my eyes in mock annoyance before the bar finally stopped at my head, shutting down and letting me stand up.

"However, it seems that your powers are still in raw form. Likely triggered when your heart beat goes up too much." Howard continued, looking me over with a hand on his chin, "Try changing your hand into a claw."

I looked down at one of my pale skinned hands before closing my eyes and concentrating as hard as possible but nothing happened.

"Come on, let's not focus too much on it now. Maybe a tour of the city will help." Tony suggested upon seeing my disappointment.

"Good idea." I agreed. "It'll keep my mind off this thing for a while."

**Reader's Point of view**

"So your really part dragon?" Pepper asked the brown haired girl with pure excitement, "That's so cool. I wished I could be a dragon I mean I still have my Rescue armour but a Dragon? That's amazing!"

"OK-OK Pepper calm down." Rhodey spoke up from where he was walking next to Shadow and Tony, "I mean the ENTIRE New York doesn't have to hear it."

"OK. But still it's so cool. Can you breathe Fire or wind or even Ice?"

Shadow only shook her head, "I can manipulate energy but that's it."

"Wow. Cool! Anything else?"

"Never mind crazy," Shadow said to Tony who had been quiet for a while, "She's like a hyperactive squirrel on six cups a coffee."

The four friends burst into laughter at Shadow's joke with Pepper laughing the most, even if the joke was about her.

"Rhodey, you're sure your mom won't mind me staying at your house for a while?" Shadow changed the subject after the group fell silent.

"Coarse she won't. Besides, Tony, Pepper and I'll be graduating High school soon. She'll be glad with someone around the house from time to time." The dark skinned teen answered her.

"Even with the fact that I'm part dragon."

"She doesn't know that does she?"

A subtle smile crossed Shadow's face before her light green gaze shifted back to the sidewalk in front of them.

"So, since when did you say you had amnesia." Pepper asked from where she was walking backwards in front of her.

"I'm not sure. A week, maybe longer." Shadow lied as she didn't want to say anything about S.H.I.E.L.D or Nick Fury.

"Whoa, your parents must be worried sick."

"I don't have any family, Pepper. One relative and he doesn't even know me."

Pepper didn't say a word further upon seeing what impact her earlier statement had on the orange striped girl.

**Shadow's Point of ****view**

We walked in silence for a while longer before my gaze finally shifted to a man across the street from us. A grey hoodie concealed his face but something was still odd about him. Not appearance wise but energy signature wise. It was eerily similar to my own.

"Shadow?" Pepper asked, making me realize that I stopped but I chose not to respond. The man began to walk away upon noticing me and if he disappeared now I might never see him again.

"Hey, Hey Wait!" I couldn't stop myself from calling; stretching a hand out to him before taking off across the street, skidding over the hood of a car that almost ran into me.

"Shadow!?" I heard Tony yell in surprise but I kept going. The man had also taken off upon seeing and hearing me. I had to admit he was pretty fast but I was able to narrowly keep up.

The chase kept up for a minute or so before he ducked into an alley prompting me to follow suit.

I turned the corner only to see that he was... gone. My fists clenched at my sides before kicking the wall close to me.

"Crag! ...I can't believe I lost him!" I cursed under my breath as my blood began to boil, "Could that have been Arthur Parks? I mean our energy signatures were the same. It had to be."

Something suddenly snapped underneath me before I was flung upwards with a yelp. I finally jerked to a stop as I looked up only to see an energy rope has tightened itself around my ankle.

"What the!?"

"Look at it this way kid, at least you'll learn a bit more about your powers as an experiment." An eerily calm voice said above me, before a red skull faced man came into view.

"Who-Who're you?"

"You can call me, Whiplash!"


	2. Meeting the Khan

**Chapter 2: Meeting the Khan**

"Whiplash?" I repeated, looking up and scanning him over. Dark grey exoskeleton with a dark red skull for a face. He held a same colored energy 'rope' in his hand, the end of which was twisted tightly around my ankle. Whatever this guy wanted, could not be good.

**Whiplash's Point of View**

"What do you want!?" The girl snarled up at me as the scleras of her eyes became light green with slit reptilian pupils. This was the perfect time to test her true potential.

"All I want, is a worthy fighter!" I said back before pulling her up and setting her down in front of me. She seemed confused when I stepped a few feat away from her before pulling out both my lethal whips.

"Come on kid, transform. It's easy to just tap into your energy form."

She didn't understand at first but reacted with lightning speed when one of my weapons whipped through the air in her direction, energy erupting around her before a scaled claw gripped the electric rope.

"Not bad." I complemented before letting the tip of my second whip curl around her waist. She screeched angrily as an electric shock rippled through her, before a blast of energy incinerated the concrete next to me forcing me to pull back.

**Shadow's Point of View**

~Guess it was a good idea to take his advice to heart.~ I thought to myself before narrowly dodging an energy whip, firing a blast of pure energy from my mouth that rammed it's target and forced him to skid.

One of his whips suddenly curled itself around my body before exploding, sending me flying over the edge.

I would've left a crater in the alley below if I couldn't fly, ascending skyward and firing a blast of energy at him before taking off into the night sky.

**Whiplash's Point of View**

~She's fast, I'll give 'er that!~ I thought to myself before calling my own ride; a flying disk resembling a saw-blade; and taking off after her. Either A) wants her for his own analysis; or B) He wants to keep her away from AIM so they don't get an advantage.

Either way my mission is to retrieve her, no questions asked.

I caught up to her pretty quickly, extending one of my whips but her head snapped round before she dived down to the streets below; forcing me to follow.

No wonder sent me after her.

Her speed and agility is beyond belief, twisting and turning on a dime to avoid cars and other vehicles along with having to constantly ascend and dive to avoid my assaults.

She finally turned on her back with her hand stretched out at me as a beam of energy erupted from it, forcing me to pull back.

She may not know much about her powers but she's using them as if she's known about them for months, twisting and turning while constantly firing beams of energy at me. A dual energy blast almost knocked me off my ride but I was able to balance myself with one of my whips.

She suddenly came to a halt in front of a building, facing me as energy began to rapidly swirl around her.

**Shadow's Point of View**

I can do this, I can do this.

I concentrated on all my power before dissolving into my energy form, heading for Whiplash at the speed of light and ramming him hard-handedly off his disk and into the tarred street.

"Now that that's over!" I smirked as I approached him, looking down at the thing in triumph, "Where is Arthur Parks!?"

"Don't know him, never met him." Whiplash responded in a mocking tone before a tingling sensation ran up my spine; what I now call my Dragon sense. I looked back before Whiplash's disk almost took my head off, giving him a chance to grab hold of it and escape.

"This isn't the last we'll see of each other Dragon Laser!" he shouted at me in defiance before disappearing into the night.

A subtle growl escaped my throat before I became aware of the crowd of people that has formed nearby. All their sights were set on me and the crater that Whiplash had left. Between them were Tony, Pepper and Rhodey; who were staring wide eyed at me in shock and surprise.

The guy I had taken off after was walking away from the scene too.

A soft snort escaped my nostrils before I took off into the night sky, flapping my wings to the beat of my heart.

"What did I just do?"

**Ghost's Point of View**

"Guess I'll have to triple that amount." I said to myself while watching those two fight. She held her own pretty well, even against someone of Whiplash's caliber.

What's worrying me is the fact that she's beginning to unlock her powers thanks her newly powered up instincts. I'll have to take her down tomorrow to avoid further complications.

**Shadow's Point of View**

I sighed to myself as I knocked on the wooden door, "Tony's probably going to be so mad at me."

Rhodey said this was his house so this has to be the place.

A dark skinned women finally opened the door after my second knock.

"You must be Shadow. Come right in." She greeted warmly, opening the door fully so that I could go in.

It was a normal house like any other but hey, what can't you buy on a lawyers salary.

"James already filled me in on everything. It must be hard to come here without a clue what's been going on in your life." She continued, leading me to the bedrooms.

I only nodded shortly, "I'm getting used to it. It's my first night in New York and already so much has happened."

"Well, James did say something about you running after a man."

My face suddenly went bright red from embarrassment as I looked down at the floor, "I... something told me that he could have been the relative I've been looking for."

Silence fell between us for a bit, making my embarrassment become even worse, "Um, Ms. Rhodes? You might not have seen Rhodey, Tony or Pepper?"

"Yes of coarse, they're in the armory right now if you want to go see them."

I nodded quickly before turning around to head to the armory before Ms. Rhodes suddenly put her hand on my shoulder, "You can call me Roberta. If you need anything, you can always asked."

Her words calmed me so much that my cheeks finally went back to the usual peach, "I won't forget that."

**Tony's Point of View**

"Did you guys see what Shadow almost did to Whiplash? I thought she said she can't control her powers yet." I heard Pepper say behind me as I typed furiously on the computer.

"Well, it looked like she was reacting on instincts rather then using her head." I replied in Shadow's defense.

"Yeah. But still, she had so much power that it was unbelievable!" Rhodey also chipped in.

"You guys talking about me?" A familiar voice made me jump in surprise before turning as the doors closed. Shadow stood with a glad smile on her face and her hands on her pockets as she approached us.

"Not at all." Rhodey responded but I had a bad feeling about what he would say next, "Only the fact that you almost pounded Whiplash into a pulp!"

"O, that." Shadow gulped as her smile faded, "Listen I can explain that."  
"Explain how you suddenly went from not knowing a thing about your powers to suddenly firing blasts of energy from your mouth and hands!" Pepper also chipped in, eyeing Shadow as if it was her fault.

"OK guys easy!" I quickly chipped in to Shadow's advantage, "I'm sure she can explain how that happened."

"I took Whiplash's advice and tapped into my energy form. Instincts took over from there."

"See?"

"I'm not buying it." Rhodey said as if he was suspicious about something.

"OK, so I messed up. If you want, I'll be out of your hair by tomorrow. I can figure out a way to find Arthur myself."

"No!" I quickly said to avoid her mood dropping, "I mean, I'm already trying to pinpoint Arthur's energy signature. We'll be able to go out and look for him tomorrow."

Shadow gave a determined nod before her gaze shifted to Pepper and Rhodey. They were eyeing her in a suspicious way but she'll gain their trust in no time. Or, at least that's what I kept telling myself.

**Shadow's Point of View**

The environment of a school was WAY different then the environment of a city.

I stayed close to Tony as I followed him through the hallway. We passed a few kids who eyed me weirdly as if I didn't belong, making my nerves spike like crazy.

Tony seemed to notice this as he placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder making my nerves calm down a bit. My locker was right next to his which was a pretty big relief. I can't use my powers while I'm here or who knows what would happen.

"Hey! You must be the new kid here." A boy's voice made me turn my head a bit, seeing a behemoth of a basketball player standing next to me with the biggest smile for a teen of his age.

"Hey Hogan." Tony greeted him, "Here's that homework you wanted."

He handed him a bunch of papers, my guess being his homework, which Hogan quickly scanned through.

"Thanks Tony. As for you," He turned in my direction before giving me the biggest hug ever, "Hope you enjoy your stay here."

"Can't... breathe!" Was the only thing I could get out as all the air was pushed out of my lounges. He finally let go before continuing down the hall, leaving me sprawled out and panting on the floor.

"Um, you OK?"

A female voice made me look up to a blonde haired girl with a book or two under her arm.

"Hm? O, yeah, I'm fine. Just catching my breath." I said quickly before getting up.

"Happy Hogan probably got you. When he comes around remember to duck or run when he wants to hug you."

"I'll take that advice. By the way, I'm Shadow."

"Whitney Stane. It's nice to meet you. ...I better get to class, see you later."

The day passed by pretty quickly.

There were a few classes that Tony wasn't with me but I found some comfort with the fact that I was either with Hogan, Witney, Rhodey or Pepper.

The last bell finally rang as I was first to leave the building. I stood on the sidewalk a few feat from the doors while waiting for Tony to show up. It took a while so I decided to head back to Rhodey's house anyway.

However, I didn't notice the teen that was also heading in my direction causing us to bump into each other.

"Ouch! ...Hey sorry I wasn't looking where I was..." My sentence was cut short when we both looked up at each other. I couldn't see his eye color from behind his glasses but I had to admit he looked kinda, cute.

"...going."

"It's alright. I should be getting back to the shop anyway." He responded flatly before pushing past me.

"Hey, wait!"

He stopped suddenly as I ran up to him, "Um, name's Shadow. Shadow Parks."

"Gene Khan. And if you'll excuse me, I've got things to do."

"Maybe I can help you... where you headed?"

"None of your business..." He growled as he continued on.

My Dragon sense suddenly ran up my spine as the sound of screaming tires filled the air, making both me and Gene spin round only to see a black van coming round the corner on a skid.

"Run!" Gene shouted before we both bolted down the sidewalk but the van was too fast for us, coming to an abrupt halt in front of us.

Two masked men kicked open the doors each armed with a hand gun that was aimed directly at us.

"You two are coming with us!" One of them shouted, grabbing Gene by his arm and shoving him hard handedly into the van.

"You too!" The second one growled as I was thrown in too.

My eyes were closed due to the pain but I heard the doors slam shut as the van took off, with us in it.

It was pitch black in the back of the van we were stuck in. Silence rained between us, the only thing I could hear being the beating of my heart.

"What do the Maggia want with us anyway?" I finally mustered up the courage to ask making Gene look at me in disbelief.

"How do you know about the Maggia?"

My cheeks went bright red as I scooted a bit closer to him so that the morons in the front wouldn't hear, "You know that dragon that's been appearing on the news?"

A nod from him made the redness on my face begin to disappear as I eased up.

"Well..." I paused for a sec before completing my sentence, "I'm that dragon."

"What!"

I lifted my hand from the metallic floor as five long claws extended from the tips of my fingers and my skin became scaled over.

"So, your some kind of half human?"

"I... honestly don't know what I am. I've been struggling with amnesia since yesterday."

"Well, since you trust me enough to tell me a secret like that... then I guess I can show you a secret too."

With that, he pulled out ten rings with fire like jewels; each a different color; attached to a string.

"I am the last of the Khans and the last Mandarin. Only the Mandarin can use the Makluan rings, giving him godlike powers over everything he sees."

"Wow..." was the only thing I could get out of my mouth before the van came to an abrupt halt. The doors swung open forcing Gene to hide the rings as we were pulled out. We were both tied up next to a few crates as four men stood guarding us.

"Why'd you take the girl?" Gene growled at them making me look at him in surprise, "I'm the one you want."

"She's a witness, kid." A guy with a weird exoskeleton and a horn in the middle of his forehead smirked as he walked up.

"You guys are so dead..." I growled under my breath glaring up at him.

"Lucky you. The boss'll decide what's gonna happen to you! As for you Khan, now that your granddad's gone no one's gonna get you out of this mess."

~But I still can.~

I must have fallen asleep, seeing that it was dark by the time my eyes snapped open again. It felt weird, like I was laying against something.

My pulse went cold when I looked up, noticing that I was leaning on Gene's shoulder making me jump in surprise and scoot away by about a foot or so.

I sighed in relief when he didn't wake up before scales covered my hands and I ripped the ropes that were binding me apart. Black claws tipped my fingers as I lightly shook Gene's shoulder.

"Hm...?" He groaned as his eyes began to fluster but I was already busy cutting through the ropes around his wrists.

"Shadow?" He asked suddenly now wide awake, as my claws went through the rope after a few saws.

"No time to explain. We gotta move before they get back..."

"We're already back kid!"

My eyes widened as One horn and a guy that looked more like a bird then a man jumped down from the support beams in the roof.

"What the heck?" Birdbrain said in mock surprise upon seeing the scales and claws that my hands have turned into, "You some kinda freak?"

"Does that say something about you?" I mocked with a smirk as the silver-grey scales down my hands spread till it covered my body completely. My tail and wings erupted before black claws ripped through my sneakers and my mouth extended into a snout. Horns erupted from the back of my skull before I roared angrily (It's becoming a signature when my transformations complete).

A light suddenly flashed beside me before a black armored man stood next to me, "Now you will pay the price for attacking the Mandarin!"

"O great! Not this guy again!" Birdbrain yelled in disbelief stepping back.

"Gene?" I asked concerned when I looked back at him as all ten rings were on his fingers.

"Yes, I am fine Shadow." He responded in a deeper voice before firing a beam of energy at One horn, forcing him to skid back.

I also attacked by firing my own blast of energy at Birdbrain but he was able to dodge due to the fact that he can fly before firing multiple energy projectiles at me.

My wings unfolded before I took off skyward landing on a support beam before firing a beam of energy from my palm. Again he dodged as I was forced to jump down when a barrage of energy destroyed the beam.

If long range wouldn't work, then close range was the best option.

I dissolved into energy before shooting forward like a bullet, returning to physical state by time I got close enough.

My claws shot forward before four slash marks took their place across Birdbrain's face. I couldn't see what Gene was doing but I was too busy anyway as Birdbrain locked his grip around my wrists before throwing me into the floor.

"Shadow!" I heard Gene, or Mandarin, call to me, "Catch!"

I looked up only for one of his rings to hit the floor next to me. I noticed that it was the green one when I picked it up. Why would he give it to me? I'm not the Mandarin, he is.

"Use it! It'll make fighting a bit easier!"

I didn't understand at first but placed it on my finger anyway. A bright light suddenly flashed from it, dimming moments later before I noticed that my body was covered in armor. It resembled Gene's in most ways only that it was more fitted to my body-size and –shape. My lower-jaw, wings, claws, horns and tail were also not covered.

I didn't have much time to be amazed though as Birdbrain was already heading in my direction. My armor was able to protect me from his energy barrage before a blast of energy sent him flying. Gene was right, this thing made fighting WAY easier. Each blast he threw I was able to ram right back before slamming my fist hard handedly into the side of his face.

He stumbled back before one horn was thrown into him, letting them both hit some nearby crates. I looked up to see Gene walking towards me, "You alright?"

"Yeah, thanks." I replied with a smile before getting ready to take the ring off, "I better give this back."

"Keep it. I have nine more."

I was surprised to hear that before the four masked men charged at us again. I smirked in amusement before slamming my fist into a guys face. Gene turned back to normal before kicking another in his stomach, sending him flying. My tail swung round and rammed the the third one into the other two before I clawed the last one's face. Gene delivered the finishing blow after the man staggered back, swiping his feet right out under him and causing him to hit the floor.

"Come on, let's get out of here. The cops can take it from here."

**Gene's Point of View**

I couldn't believe it. She actually used the power of the ring! ...hm, maybe there's something more to her then we both know.

"Thanks again for the ring Gene." Shadow thanked me for the second time as we continued down the sidewalk.

"No problem. But tell me, how were you able to use the power? Only the Mandarin can use the ring's true power."

"I'm not sure," she answered with some uncertainty. "I guess I just did. It's like when I used my powers for the first time: react on instincts."

"Interesting. ...does this relative even know you exist?" I suddenly asked to change the subject. I have to admit I'm becoming a bit curious about her.

"I don't know. It's a he so it must be my dad."

"What do you think he looks like?"

She only shrugged before answering verbally, "Orange hair, dark green eye. He can manipulate energy like me so that's one way I'll recognize him."

"Hm..."

We continued speaking for a while before a familiar voice caught Shadow's attention, "Shadow?"

We both looked back only for me to see someone I was hoping to not meet again, not like this: Tony Stark.

"Tony!" Shadow yelped happily.

"I'd better go. Bye." She greeted me quickly before running over to Stark.

"Hey Shadow. Where have you been all night?" Tony asked equally as happy to see her before looking up at me, "...Gene?"

I didn't respond, walking away to avoid a very uncomfortable reconection but, I couldn't help but glance back at Shadow. She may have amnesia but something was, different about her. Much different then any girl I've ever met.

Whatever it was, this father she's looking for might be able to tell me something. Even if he doesn't even know she exists.


	3. Ghost of the Past

**Chapter 3: Ghost of the Past**

**Shadow's POV**

"So, you and Gene were enemies?" I asked in disbelief while flying with Tony, Pepper and Rhodey over the city. My second day of school had come to an end and I was pretty surprised to see Gene in two of my classes. I wanted to talk to him after school but Pepper caught up to me and invited me along for an after school flight.

"Well, yeah. We were friends but that changed when we found out he was the Manderin." Pepper began their side of the story, "We haven't seen him since he helped us in the Makluan invasion. ...How is he?"

"He's fine but I can't believe he used to be evil. It didn't seem that way when we teamed up against Unicorn and Killer Shrike last night."

Yeah, I wasn't far off when I thought up Onehorn but I was WAY off with Birdbrain.

"He even gave me one of his rings. We were pretty surprised when I was able to use it."

"Really?" Rhodey asked surprised, turning his head to my side.

"Yeah. If we land, I can show you guys."

"The train station looks like a good place. Let's go." Tony sudjested as we flew up before landing close to the tracks, me being the one who landed up front before facing my friends.

The green stone in the ring glowed brightly before I stood proudly in my Manderin armour, "So, what yah think?"

"Woah... That's so cool!" Pepper exclaimed coming up to me to take a closer look.

"Amazing. Atleast now I'll have an oppertunity to study the armor a bit closer." Tony said with a hand on his chin.

"I'll say, I'm impressed." Rhodey admitted, "What can you do with it?"

"All the usual, just five times stronger." I said with a smirk, clearly visible due to the fact that my lower-jaw wasn't covered in armor.

"Wow, we're so gonna have an advantage against badguys now!" Pepper said behind me from where she was studying my tail, one of the bodyparts not covered in armor.

I growled a bit annoyed but soon forgot it when my Dragon sense ran up my spine, "Guys, we got company!"

My words weren't even cold before a concussive blast rammed me into Pepper before we both hit the floor, "Hehe... if you only reacted in less the time you could sense it."

"Ghost!?" I heard from Tony before my eyes opened and I got off Pepper, seeing a hooded masked man who looked like some kind of high tech assassin.

"Yeah, Iron man you sure have a way of remembering old friends." Ghost said sarcasticly as he scircled us, the gun still in his hand.

I was already on my feet and pulling up Pepper before I glared at the guy through my black mask, "Ghost?"

"Sound fermilliar, don't I Shadow?"

"How do you know my name?"

Pepper, Tony and Rhodey seemed just as surprised as I was. How can this guy, who I've met just now, know my name?

"What's wrong kid, don't you remember? ... ...Right, course you won't. I was there when you got your powers."

"Exscuse me!?" I snarled at him as it felt like my blood began to boil. One more word and I'm going to burry him face first.

"Hehe..."

"That's enough Ghost!" Tony growled before unleashing his repulser gauntlets. Ghost, on the other hand, vanished out of sight.

"Rrr ...now how do we find him?" Rhodey asked as he looked around te find the assassin. My Dragon sense is good for long range but how efficient will it be with close range? Guess it's going to be trial by fire.

I closed my eyes and, to my surprise, I could see everything; only ten times better, including Ghost!

"Pepper to your left! Hit 'em now!"

"Huh?" She asked first looking around.

"Your left!"

She luckily reacted before asking this time, firing a blast from her gauntlet and narrowly hitting Ghost if he didn't jump back.

"You can sense him?" Rhodey asked in disbelief as he looked at me. I still had my eyes closed as I was trying to focus on Ghost and not what he was saying.

A signal from behind me made my tail crack like a whip apon hitting it's target, causing Ghost to fall back on a skid.

"It's my Dragon sense!" I exsclaimed before narrowly slamming my scaled fist into Ghost's face, "Guess it's not just good for long range!"

"Yeah, guess not." Ghost said before throwing a grenade in my direction. I was luckily able to whack it away with one of my wings before it exsploded.

A blast of energy from my mouth scorched the earth a few feat from him before a punch was thrown in my direction. I luckily ducked before whacking him with my tail.

"Your fast, kid. I'll give yah that!"

I ignored his compliment before swinging my tail again but he was able to dodge before catching me squere in the jaw with a fist. A blast from Iron Man's unibeam seperated us as I jumped back to the safety my armoured friends provided.

A few blasts from War Machine's repulsors followed before I was able to hook my tail around Ghost's leg, pulling him to me but he was able to blast me with his gun before I could get in a good shot.

"Shadow!?" Pepper exsclaimed before a few missile blasts followed.

**Reader's POV**

Shadow was on her stomach from the hit Ghost was able to get in but Tony, Pepper and Rhodey were still fighting. Even against the three of them he proved to be a formidible oponant, especially with his grenades and gun.

Iron man fired a few blasts from his repulsors before speeding in for close combat. War Mechine and Rescue stayed at long range and attacked with Repulsor blasts and missiles. Ghost was able to dodge or send back some of their attacks while warding off hits from Iron man.

"Sorry kids, but I've wasted enough time on you three;" Ghost said before dissepearing, reapering next to Shadow. "She's the one I'm after."

"Shadow!" War Machine called out to her as the young dragon's heartrate picked up by six beats a second.

Ghost's grip locked around th back of Shadow's neck but a spark of energy rippled through him, causing him to let go and step back in surprise.

"What?"

Shadow was already up on one knee as energy began rippling around her, eyes flaring as she glared at Ghost. The energy soon began to exspand before turning into a powerfull blast, a loud roar ripping through the air as it sounded like Ghost wasn't the only one sustaining injury.

"Shadow!?" Iron Man exsclaimed as the energy faded and dissepeared, leaving no sign of Ghost; or Shadow; only a smoking crater.

"What the!? ...Where are they?" Rescue asked in disbelief as she looked around, seeing nothing from Shadow even with her scanners.

"I-I don't know. But whatever that was, it has to be a clue to Shadow's real power."

"Let's head back to the armory. We might be able to find her from there."

Ghost found himself in an abandoned warehouse a while later, only remembering the staggering blast Shadow had unleashed.

"Hm... guess that kid's stronger then A.I.M first implied." He said to himself, "Gives me a reason to triple that offer after all."

**Gene's POV**

"Shadow? ...Shadow, wake up." I said as I shook the dragon's shoulder. It looked like she got hit pretty hard as it took a few minutes for her eyes to fluster and finally open, bright green gaze locking onto me as I stood infront of her in my Manderin armor.

"Hm... Gene?" She groaned a bit through the leaves as her head lifted from the concrete floor, "...How long was I out?..."

"You tell me," I said before my armour dissepeared. "I only saw a bright flash before you were laying here."

"Where is here?" She asked apon sitting up and rubbing the back of her neck.

"I was close to Hammer Multinational before I saw you. Unfortunatly..." I pointed to a building behind us.

She looked at me as her skin smoothed out and she was returning to normal, "What're you doing out here, anyway?"

"I'm not completely sure but this is the place where I last sensed your father to be..."

"Arthor Parks!?" She cut me off as she was on her feet in an instant, "Your serious? Where is he?"

"I'm not sure, Shadow! Calm down!"

She shook her head roughly a couple of times as she noticed that she had grabbed my shoulders in excitement.

"Ehm... sorry." She apologized quickly, letting go as her cheeks went bright red. I didn't think anything of it at the time.

"He's somewhere in the city close by. Your Makluan sense might be a good way to find him."

Diturmination and excitement flared in her teenage eyes as she ran up to the edge, "You coming?"

"You go on without me. I'll catch up."

She glanced at me in confusion before nodding and jumping down into the alley, taking off into the streets to find Arthor.

I sighed heavily as I looked after her. Since when has lying become so hard?

I couldn't tell her that I already aprouched the Living Laser, her excitement woud've been dampened too much...

_(Flashback begins)_

"Why are you guys suddenly after me again!?" He had asked after I finally caught up to him.

"If you don't know I won't be surprised. This is about your daughter Arthor Parks."

"Sorry but I don't have a kid!"

"The girl that chased after you, the one who tranformed into a dragon..."

"Wait, what!?"

"Do you remember now? ...She has amnesia, she can't remember anything about her past but she can remember you. Do her a favor and atleast get to know her!"

He didn't respond but only looked at me with wide eyes of disbelief before changing into energy and dissepeared.

_(Flashback ends)_

**Shadow's POV**

Gene wasn't going to follow; that I already figured out as the pebbles crunched under my feet. The sun was already starting to set and I better get back and show Tony, Pepper and Rhodey that I was ok. Sofar I've decided not to call Arthor by his title, the Living Laser. It just, didn't sound right.

He sounded more like a villain then someone who'd be a great dad. Maybe he was one... nah, he couldn't have been.

"Hey, Shadow! Wait up!" I suddenly heard someone behind me, making me turn round to see a tall blonde running up to me.

"Whitney?" I asked in surprise as I was now facing her fully, "What brings you here?"

"I noticed you looked a little down. Everything alright?"

"Yeah, school's just been wearing me out." I lied as we had hitched on a conversation. We continued down the sidewalk as we spoke about school and soforth.

"Hey Whitney?" I suddenly forced myself to ask, "You know anything about, the Living Laser?"

She looked at me as if I've gone crazy but answered anyway since I already told her about my amnesia, "He's just your everyday villain. He onece robbed a bank and later threatened that he'd turn New York to ash if Iron man didn't fight him again."

My heart had sunken to my shoes as I looked at her with wide eyes and a dropped jaw but shifted my gaze back to the pavement.

"You ok?"

"Hm, yeah. I mean I think he's a good guy, he probably just got mixed up with the wrong people."

"I don't think so. He's a little pafetic if you ask me..."

"Exscuse me!?" I suddenly snarled at her, "Don't talk about him like that, got it!"

She looked at me in disbelief, "What's gotten into you Shadow?"

"I..." The rest of my scentence trailed off after I realised that my mouth was working faster then my head, "I-I'm sorry."

"Well, see you tomorrow..." she suddenly said in slight distrust before turning and walked away. I could already feel the lump in the back of my throaght.

Great, there go one of my friendships. I ducked into an alley before jumping from a trashcan to get to the wall, letting my claws exstend from the tips of my fingers to grip the stone. The cool night breeze ruffled my hair as I looked over the city.

I sighed heavily as I finally realised that there's only one way to get this feeling from my heart: I have to find Ghost again.

**Reader's POV**

Ghost and Shadow stood a few feat from each other as the girl's light green eyes were narrowed into a sharp glare.

"I can't believe I'm saying this... but thanks for meeting me here, Ghost." She said with a heavy sigh.

"Happy to oblige," Ghost answered in the usual mocking tone. "What do you suddenly want?"

"I want to know more about the Living Laser, and how we're related to each other."

"Hehe... is that all? And here I thought catching you was going to be a lot easier."

"Are you going to answer me or not!?"

"Alright, alright. Don't get your tail into a not." Ghost joked but it wasn't leaving a good impression on the half- dragon, "Let's just say, you two share more of a dna bond. How your father daughter bond is going to go... no one knows."

Shadow's eyes had widened a bit but they narrowed back to a glare in no time, "And?"

"...more then that. I can't tell you."

"I want to hear it... ALL OF IT!" Shadow growled as her eyes became light green surrounded slits. Her claws unsheathed as her wings spread out, horns exstending as well as her snout. Her body was covered in Silver-grey scales as a bellowing roar ripped through the air.

"Sorry, kid. A.I.M will have to exsplain the rest!"

A blast from Ghost's gun rammed into Shadow's chest but only cuased her to skid back by a foot or so. Her eyes flared as her head raised towards the sky before a blast of her own scroched the nearby concrete. Ghost had already dissepeared but the dragon's eyes closed before it's tail was whipped in his direction.

He was able to dodge but four large claws came dangerously close to ripping through his mask before a jaw filled with razor sharp teeth snapped at him.

"You're really fun to mess with kid, you know that?" Ghost joked before ramming his fist into Shadow's stomach, making her roar angrily before sinking to the floor.

"Hehe..."

Who was first one person suddenly split into five exact copies, surrounding Shadow as she snarled angrily at them, "If you told me what I needed to know, this would be long over!"

**Shadow's POV**

It felt like I could level an entire city as anger combined with the hatred I felt towards Ghost. I roared angrily as I slammed my fist into the floor, causing a massive tremor of energy to knock back the copies.

An angered snort escaped my nostrils as I lashed out towards one of the copies, hitting it and causing it to disolve and dissepear before focusing on the rest.

One made the mistake of advancing towards me, only getting sliced in half by one of my wings. A blazing spere of energy fried the third one as only two were left; another copy, and the real one.

I growled angrily as I charged forward, impailing the copy with one of my horns before getting blasted by the real one's gun.

"Too much bark, not enough bight." Ghost mocked as about three grenades exsloded infront of me, causing me to be surrounded by smoke. I tried to roar but only a caugh escaped my throaght as my eyes began to water.

A blast ripped through the smoke that forced me to skid, coming to a stop dangerously close to the edge of the building we were fighting on.

"See yah round, Shads. Or, maybe not."

A blast from a repulsor gauntlet sent the gun flying out of his hand before another blast could nock me over the edge.

"Rescue!" I called out in relief, reconising the silver/purple armoured female, "Man! Am I glad to see you!"

"Likewise," She greeted before landing next to me. "We've been looking all over for yah..."

"Ahem!" I luckily looked back apon hearing Ghost before whacking a grenade to the side with my tail, "In case you haven't noticed, we're still a bit busy."

"Busy getting your tail handed to yah!" Rescue growled at him before a blast from her gauntlet made him turn invisible.

"Hey, that's my line!" I joked with a smirk before my Dragon sense; or Makluan sense, as Gene calls it; was able to catch him and I tackled him to the floor.

A blast from Rescue's gauntlet sent him towards the edge on a skid.

"Heh... guess A.I.M was right about you after all."

Ghost was trying to play with my doubt about my past, I knew it but I couldn't let him. Even if he did have valuable secrets Team Iron Man and I wanted.

"How is A.I.M involved in all this?" Rescue asked me as I guessed that Ghost's words were starting to get to her like it got to me.

"They were the one's who gave your friend her powers in the fist place, hasn't she told you?"

"Rrrrr... shut it!" I snarled before firing a blast of energy at him but he was able to dodge by turning intangeble.

"You know about this Shadow?"

"What!? ...Don't be silly!" I looked back at Rescue, surprised that she'd even think that I'd know a thing about this, "I know just as little about my past as you guys do."

I still sensed some doubt in her before my wing deflected a blast from Ghost's gun. The ring glowed onece again as I proudly adoned my Manderin armour before a blast of energy from my mouth scorched the ground where Ghost had stood.

"What's causing the doubt you have in me?" I finally asked, turning to Rescue, "Is it something I did, or is it the fact that my past is such a mystery?"

"I... I kinda thought that you... well..."

Either, she didn't have an answer or the answer was pretty imbarrising.

"I kinda thought that you... had a crush on Tony."

"Wait, what!?" I screached in disbelief as I looked at her, "What on Earth makes you think that!?"

"Your always so close to him at school. What am I supposed to think?"

"Are you crazy? ...He's just trying to be good friend."

I still noticed a drop of doubt in her wich made me sigh as I shook my head, "Look, if you don't believe me then ask him yourself. But romantic interest wise, he's all your's."

"Really?" I could already hear that the doubt was completely gone with the fact that her tone had lightened up to the usual.

"Of coarse. Now, if you'll exscuse me..."

I swung round before my tail came close to whacking Ghost if he didn't step to the side, "I've still got a fight to finish!"

We charged towards each other for a little close combat action. I came close to ripping through his mask with my claws before he kicked me in the stomach. I roared angrily before slamming my fist into the side of his face, making him skid back by a few feat.

"If you just told me what I needed to know, then maybe we could've skipped this part!"

"Ng... I honestly don't know why your so interested in the Laser," Ghost mocked as what came next made my blood boil to a new degree. "He's a nobody, a zero!"

"Maybe to you..." I snarled under my breath as energy began rippling around me, the strenght of my power reaching a new height. "But to me, he's the exact oppisite!"

A bellowing roar ripped through the air as I dissolved into energy, heading right for Ghost at the speed of light while having no idee how strong my attack had become.

**Reader's POV**

Instead of a blast, a giant energy dragon hardhandedly rammed Ghost over the edge.

It roared angrily before Shadow returned to her physical form, flying towards Rescue before ascending skyward, "It's done! Let's move!"

Rescue hesitated for a sec before activating her boot jets and following. They flew for a couple of minutes before Rescue finally spoke again, "So... why does it look like you have a crush on Gene?"

"Wait, what!?"

"O come on Shadow. You almost always see him and your face goes bright red if we talk about him. See..."

Shadow layed a hand on her scaled cheeck as she realised that she's blushing at the thought of the dark haired boy.

"Oy!" She finally growled as her scales faded to the usual silver-grey, "I'll keep my snout out of you and Tony's relationship and you guys give Gene another chance, k?"

"Ok Shadow." Rescue chuckled as they flew back to the armory.

Atleast one relationship has grown to a full blown friendship.


	4. Gamma Shadow

**Chapter 4: Gamma**** Shadow**

**Shadow's POV**

"Incase you haven't noticed Shellhead, I kinda have somewhere important to be!" I growled at the robot in annoyance before another laser was sent flying in his direction.

I was heading for school when suddenly, WHAM! I was rammed into the pavement by an explosion caused by a silver and green robot's projectiles.

It only dodged the laser before sending another round of bullet-fire at me. I dissolved quickly before rematerializing behind it and slamming both fists onto it's head, sending it spiraling into a nearby building.

School will have to wait if I don't defeat this thing in the next five minutes.

A grappling hook curled itself around my waist and I was yanked into the roof next to it before I growled at it and standing up.

It felt like I was going to hit the floor again but I couldn't let that stop me.

A sudden ringing sensation hit my ears before I glanced back. School was already starting and I was late.

"Can this day get any worse?" I asked myself with unneeded sarcasm. A bellowing roar made me regret my choice of words before a big grey monster slammed the robot hard handedly into the concrete. I flinched a little bit due to the impact but my mouth hung open when the monster picked him up again.

"Hulk, smash!" It growled before throwing the robot halfway across the city and looking at me again.

"Nice monster." I said cautiously as if I was talking to an overgrown mutt, "I don't want to fight."

"I'm not a dog you know." He suddenly said as I took a few cautious steps back.

"Shouldn't you be at school by now kiddo?"

How in hell does he know I go to school? I'm a dragon for the love of pete sakes... well, part dragon anyway.

"I-I guess." I replied with shaky voice of surprise, "Thanks for taking care of that thing anyway."

I quickly turned on a dime to avoid further conversation before taking off skyward, "Well that was weird."

Thanks my stars I was only a minute late.

Drama class was first and I was second last to take my seat. The day went by pretty smoothly afterwords but I couldn't stop thinking about that grey monster. I still owe him for the robot, plus if it wasn't for him I would've seen my tail.

"Hey Shadow!" I suddenly jumped out of my skin after slamming my locker door shut and seeing Pepper. She always had a way of surprising me.

"Pepper!?" I yelped in sudden surprise, "Geez, you'll give a guy a heart attack."

"Sorry, but hey, Tony and I are going to the theatre after school. Wanna come?"

Now what? Do I accept or... come on Shadow! You still have to go find that guy.

"Sorry Peps." I apologized before picking up my bag, "I already have plans for tonight."

"Oh, going to see Gene are we?"

"Shut it!" I growled through grit teeth before slamming a hand over her mouth.

"I thought I told you to keep your nose out of it!?" I hissed angrily before pulling my hand back.

"Just joking Shadow. What's up with you today?"

"I..." I paused for a sec before looking at the floor with closed eyes, "...sorry. This morning's fight with that robot pretty much took it's toll."

"What robot?"

"Some green and silver one but I..." I paused again upon remembering the grey monster, "...trashed it."

"...Maybe we should cancel the movie and we can take a flight across the city."

"It's OK. I don't want you to miss quality time with Tony because of me."

The bell rang as I took off for the front door, being the first to get out and head down the sidewalk with a full on sprint.

Maybe things aren't so bad after all.

**Fury's POV**

Shadow crossing paths with the Hulk can't be a coincidence. That's what I thought before scanning through the files of Project Shadow for the fifth time.

It wasn't very thick thanks to the fact that the Scientist supreme and Controller were able to escape with most of the confidential files. I groaned in annoyance upon getting to the last entry.

'Somehow, subject Shadow gained a few unexpected abilities like manipulating energy and producing large amounts of Gamma energy concentrated into violently hot flames. Further analysis shows that she now has a Dna link with Arthur Parks aka, the Living Laser. Her speed, strength and stamina have greatly increased beyond what a normal human is capable of. M.O.D.O.C 2.0 will surely be a success.'

I grit my teeth before swiping some of the files off the metallic desk in anger. Who would've thought that a 16-year old girl with a troubled past as an experiment would set me off this much?

Was it because I feel sorry for her? Or is just because she seemed so weak at first glance?

I turned on the closest monitor screen with a few videos of Shadow's previous battles. For one thing, weak is not how she should be described...

**Shadow's POV**

My heart almost skipped a beat when I opened the door to Rhodey's house. I'm pretty sure his almost stopped at what we saw.

"Shadow, these people are from S.H.I.E.L.D." Roberta explained as my heart rate when back to normal, "They'd like to have a word with you."

Next to her stood two S.H.I.E.L.D agents: a man with buzz cut blonde hair and a women who I remembered way too well. The sound of soles against pavement reverberated in my ears as I glanced back. Rhodey had already took off, running like a greyhound to get the heck out of there.

"Where is Rhodey going?"

Both the dark skinned teen and I sat at the counter fifteen minutes later as Agent Hill paced back and forth in front of us, all while holding two fingers over the communicator in her ear.

"They know..." Rhodey warned in my ear before I gave him a puzzled look.

Oh right... he doesn't know about my first encounter with S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Coarse they know. How you think I got to New York in the first place?"

"Wait, what!?"

Agent Hill stopped pacing before nodding to Agent Jackson, "We have clearance."

She held out a remote like device before pressing a button on it. Rhodey pretty much hit the floor to take cover as I had to extend and dig my claws into the countertop to not fall off my chair.

Thank grief miss Rhodes wasn't there to see that.

It was a holographic image of my dragon form. It was a light blue color due to being a projection but every detail on it was right, from it's horns down to the sharp pointed claw on each toe.

"Project Shadow was an A.I.M operated experiment to enhance the capabilities of a normal human being." Hill explained while Rhodey got off the floor, "But, it seems there were some... complications."

"What complications?" I asked alarmed. Am I the result of this, 'Project Shadow'?

"Not only were the subject's capabilities enhanced but it gained the ability to manipulate energy and to produce a violently hot Gamma fire."

"You mean she. I'm the result of that project aren't I?"

Hill gave a somewhat sympathetic nod before Rhodey and I looked at each, "But you wouldn't have remembered it due to your amnesia."

"How did that even happen? I mean, why start the project in the first place?"

"We don't know. As for the 'Gamma fire'..." she pressed another button before the dragon disappeared and another image of the monster I met this morning appeared. "We're hoping he can tell us."

"The Hulk?" Rhodey asked in surprise, having also recognised the the image.

"You know him?"

"Yeah, Tony and I met him a couple of times before but the last we saw of him was with the Makluan Invasion."

"True but we'll need you two to speak to him."

"What!?" both Rhodey and I exclaimed in unison before I spoke up, "What makes you think he's not going to pound us into a pulp!?"

"You met him earlier this morning didn't you?"

Rhodey glanced at me as I remembered the brief conversation we had, "I guess."

"Then this shouldn't be much of a problem."

**Rhodey's POV**

"I don't understand why you didn't tell us about this sooner." I told her as we got back to the armory to get the War Machine armor.

"It didn't seem relevant." She said in her own defense, "Besides, I didn't want to add to your problems."

"What problems?"

"The problems I caused. I know you guys want to help and all but if I was made to destroy the world than why bother?"

"I didn't mean it like that. Yeah, so maybe you got your powers from an organization of mad scientists. So what? Look at all the good you've done, how many lives you've saved. A monster wouldn't do that."

She didn't answer me as I got into the armor, "Don't focus on the negatives Shadow. The positives are what count."

A mischievous smile crossed her face before a bright spark went off in her green eyes.

I remember that look.

"If you say so hot-shot." She said in a sarcastic tone before her mouth extended into a snout. Black horns grew from the back of her head as her tail whipped behind her. Black claws tipped her fingers before skin was replaced with silver scales and a loud roar ripped through the air.

"Let's go!"

**Bruce's POV**

I don't believe it! He's still here!?

I ran down the sidewalk like a greyhound to avoid the police vans and other vehicles that were after me.

If Ross is behind this I wouldn't be surprised.

A police car that drove up in front of me made me come to an abrupt hault. I quickly looked over my shoulder as the rest of them also stopped.

"Bruce Banner! You are under arrest!" An officer shouted while aiming with his pistol off the hood of his car at me. A loud screeching roar suddenly rang out as something flew very low overhead. Most of the officers had ducked while I held my hands over my head but the next thing I knew, something suddenly grabbed me by the waist before taking off skyward.

"Whao, whao!" I yelped in distress and surprise.

"Ey! Not so loud, I have ears too."

I glanced up at the thing whose arm was around my waist and my eyes pretty much widened. It was the silver-scaled dragon the Hulk met this morning. I knew her pretty well though.

"S-Shadow? ...I-Is that you?"

"Your... doctor Bruce Banner right? How do you know my name?"

"I'll explain later but maybe we should be landing right about now."

**Shadow's POV**

I figured he was going to recognise me seeing how the Hulk reacted to seeing me this morning. A quick nod to Rhodey saw the three of us descending and landing on a building roof. I set Banner down before changing back to normal human form.

"So it IS you." Bruce said to me as my green eyes met with his brown ones, "I haven't seen you since you were... what ten?"

The look I gave him probably told him that I wasn't following that well, "You've lost your memory haven't you? Not surprising looking at what you've been through."

"Doctor Banner. How do you know Shadow?" Rhodey finally asked the question that was stuck in my head since my mouth was hanging open a little.

"I'll start at the beginning. I figured A.I.M was up to something so I decided to investigate. The experiments they were doing on you were breaking you down instead of enhancing your capabilities so I decided to intervene. I was able to inject you with a small amount of Gamma energy but it was unstable, so I had to degrade it somehow..."

"You used the Living Laser's DNA to do that, right?" I interrupted him as it felt like some memories were coming back.

Bruce only nodded before continuing, "Yes. Unfortunately, I was caught and held captive. They got me angry enough before the Hulk unleashed to fight you. To my surprise, it wasn't that long till he was taken down, but instead of finishing him like you were ordered to you blasted a hole through the wall to let him escape. You were captured and subdued before you could follow."

Rhodey had to roughly shake my shoulder to get me out of the trance I got stuck in while listening. I actually remembered what happened that day.

"Okay, so how can Shadow use this "Gamma flame" we've been told about?" Rhodey suddenly asked out of the blue, pretty much ruining the mood for me.

"From what I was able to find out, you just have to focus on it... but right now we have bigger things to worry about."

The engine of a helicopter rang out on queue before one came up above us.

"Uh-oh!" Rhodey and I yelped in unison before a pained call from Bruce made us both turn round to look at him. He was down on his knees while holding his head and trembling in pain.

My eyes were quick to widen when he suddenly transformed. It seemed pretty painful but what we saw next almost made my heart stop.

"Hulk Smash!" The Hulk exclaimed before suddenly leaping into the air and grabbing the helicopter's nose. It went on a downward spiral from there.

Rhodey and I looked at each other before he went off after it. I looked over the edge of the building before my own transformation began.

**Rhodey's POV**

Shadow didn't stand a chance against the Hulk without her Dragon form so I better keep him busy while she gets ready.

I tackled him with as much force as I could possibly carry before we both hit the pavement below. The helicopter was back in the air only seconds after but the Hulk and I were too busy to notice.

Our fists clashed before we glared each other right in the eyes.

"Let me finish them off MetalMan," he growled at me before grabbing my shoulder. "Both Shadow and I will be in danger!"

The next thing I knew, we were both bombarded with gunfire before being forced apart. I looked up at the helicopter as it readied to fire again but a good sized blast of energy took out the machine gun before it could do anymore damage.

"What took you so long!?" I asked the silver dragoness with some sarcasm as she landed in front of me.

"You try transforming in this type of environment!" She scolded in mock annoyance before shifting her gaze to the Hulk.

He was back on his feet and looked ready to tear us apart.

"Hulk Smash!..."

"Hulk hold it!" Shadow snarled at him. It was definitely clear that she wasn't afraid to face him head on, "All I want is info on my past and to make sure you're safe. But I can't do that if you don't do as I say."

**Shadow's POV**

Both the Hulk and I locked eyes but my gaze quickly shifted to the helicopter when it sounded like it's engine was failing. That was exactly what was happening... but the thing I saw at the end of it's tail pretty much made my blood run cold.

It was the same robot that slammed me into the pavement this morning. It was pretty beat up so of coarse it was the same one.

"...Rhodey, you and Hulk get the rest of the officers to safety. I'll handle this one!" I barked out orders to them before taking off.

I was sounding like a commander, honestly. Maybe I am some kind of born leader.

One energy blast pretty much sent the thing flying before I made sure that the chopper and it's occupants were alright. Two officers got out before looking up at me in surprise and disbelief. My slit eyes only looked down at them before the robot pretty much tackled me.

I wasn't sure how Rhodey and the Hulk was doing but the grey beast came to my aid by slamming the robot into the floor.

"Okay. What the heck are these things?"

"They're called Doombots by the fact that they are made by Dr. Victor von Doom." Hulk explained before tearing the thing in half, "We have to move. I don't know why he's after you but I'll need time to figure that out."

I gave a quick nod before calling to Rhodey so we can leave.

"Doom has been after me since he found out about the Hulk." Bruce explained after we got back to his lab, "He wants the secret to the Gamma Radiation that created the Hulk... but he might want more now that he knows about you."

"What would he want with me than? Create an army of dragon soldiers? Forget it!"

"No... I think he might have played a part in your creation."

My eyes pretty much widened upon hearing this. At Least now I can bash the guy's skull to get the info I want.

"If you're going to face his robot's though, you'll have to learn how to use your Gamma flames."

"You a mind reader or something?" I joked with a smirk, "How am I supposed to know when I've got it?"

"Your body will start to rapidly heat up but you have to know when to unleash it or else you could suffer from heat stroke."

"No pressure..." Rhodey made himself heard. He was still in the War Machine armor while standing closest to me.

"Your not the one who can breathe fire." I joked with a chuckle but quickly became serious again when I remembered something, "Shouldn't we be checking in with Fury by now?"

"Nick Fury!? ...He's here!?" Bruce suddenly exclaimed. It looked like he was about to jump out of his skin.

"No no no no no no no!" I quickly said to ease him up while waving my claws in front of me, "He sent us out to find you, to find out more about Project Shadow."

"Did he say why?"

My jaws hung open with the "Uh" sound since I had no clue how to stop the situation from becoming worse than it already is.

"No... he didn't." Rhodey answered.

"You have no idea what S.H.I.E.L.D does, Shadow. All they want to do is use the Hulk as a weapon, they probably want to do the same with you."

My eyes only widened as my jaws hung open.

"I'll... be right back."

With that, I turned on round before going out into the open. The lab was in an abandoned part of the subway so I didn't have to worry about anyone seeing me.

"Fury. Nick Fury, come in!" I growled into the communicator while holding two claws over it.

"This is Fury. Go ahead Sha-"

I snarled angrily at him even before his sentence was finished. I wasn't holding back at all, "Is it true Fury!? ...You want to use the Hulk as a weapon and you want to do the same with me!"

A short silence followed before Fury spoke once again, "That's not up for discussion."

"Now it is!"

"Shadow listen..."

"No! You listen Fury! ...I'm not going to allow you to use me. I'd expect this from A.I.M but not from you..."

I held back due to the fact that my voice was starting to shake and I was close to tears. He's the first one I decided to trust and now I learn that I could be used as a weapon of mass destruction.

"That's a lie Shadow. Keep your head in the game and finish the mission."

The communication was cut off after that. My eyes narrowed before I ripped the device from my horn and crushed it.

If he thinks I'm going to let him use me, he can't be more wrong.

The sudden sound of jet engines made me look up before my eyes widened in disbelief. Three Doombots descended in front of me before readying their shock launchers. The next thing I know, I was blasted right into the wall.

I was quick to get up but was knocked back down before one of them threw me at the rest of his friends. They threw me around like a ragdoll before slamming me head first into the ground.

That's when I felt it. My body was starting to heat up like crazy.

Now things are really going to cut loose.

One of them was standing over me to finish me off before I suddenly rolled on my back and fired a blast of Gamma Green fire at it. The Doombot was thrown back before exploding into a million pieces due to how hot my flames really were.

"Shadow!" I heard Rhodey call to me but my green eyes were fully locked on the two machines that were left. They took a few uncomfortable steps back as the remains of their comrade still laid nearby.

I dissolved into energy before ramming one of them to the floor. The remaining one opened fire on me but it was answered by a stream of flames.

An explosion followed as the robot laid scattered over the ground. The last one charged at me but my claw was engulfed in flames before I slammed it into the robot's head. It stumbled back before I dissolved into energy again and blasted it with a through and through.

"Whao!"

"Now that's what I call on fire." I growled under my breath before looking back at Bruce and Rhodey.

**Rhodey's POV**

The Hulk stood ready to go after we cleaned up the pieces of scrap that was left of the Doombots. They were still smouldering hot thanks to Shadow's Gamma fire.

"Thanks for the info Hulk." Shadow said to him with a warm smile across her snout, "Fighting bad guys is going to be a lot easier from now on."

"You're very welcome Shadow. I hope to see you again soon."

They both shook hands before Shadow got a big bear hug. She was gritting her teeth but gave the Hulk a pat on the back as a final goodbye. He let go of her before jumping from one building to the next.

"You think we should let S.H.I.E.L.D know about this?" I asked her after a short silence.

"They don't need to know. I'm more concerned about what Tony and Pepper are going to say when they hear about this."

"I'd be surprised if they're not jealous."

We gave each other a high-five before taking off to get home. Just wait until Tony and Pepper hear about this.


End file.
